“The Thorn in the Heart” Director Michel Gondry Wants You To Buy His Toilet Paper

Michel Gondry is an odd duck. And we mean that in the best possible way. While Hollywood’s idea of a romantic comedy is to pair Jennifers Aniston and Lopez with a generically pretty male lead and have them aimlessly squabble for 90 minutes before reuniting in the rain, Gondry works with protagonists who have their memories erased. Where others pay homage to earlier films, Gondry literally re-films classic scenes with charmingly lo-fi effects.

Thus it’s no surprise that Gondry’s new documentary, “The Thorn in the Heart (L’Epine dans le Coeur),” which opens today in New York, doesn’t fit neatly into a box either. “Thorn” revolves around Gondry’s schoolteacher aunt Suzette and her tense relationship with her son, Jean-Yves. Comprised of family movies and interviews with Suzette and other family members, the film is Gondry’s most personal to date.

The filmmaker took a break from editing “The Green Hornet” — Gondry’s next film and a revamped version of the masked crime-fighter (played by Seth Rogen) — to answer a few questions.

The Wall Street Journal: Why were you interested in making a film about your aunt’s life?

Michel Gondry: I have the privilege of making a living out of my hobby — there are some duties that come with that, and one of them is to show people a bit of life they’re not in the habit of seeing, like my auntie. Her legacy could be shared or lost, and that depended on me, so I felt I had to do that. It’s very personal, because it’s my life and people that I have access to, and I ought to be able to appreciate other people around me if I want to appreciate anyone. So there you go.

Was it hard to convince Suzette and your family to participate?

Suzette has been so supportive of my work from the beginning, and initially, I went out to do a tribute to the countryside where she’s from because it’s been so influential to the universe I’ve created in my films and videos. So she was not hard to convince. What was harder was getting her to talk about subjects, like her son, that she didn’t want to talk about. That’s why the title of the film is “The Thorn in the Heart,” because that’s how she described her son. It’s devastating, but that’s how she felt.

Given your artistic background, did you design the film’s poster yourself?

Yes, it was very quick. I do quite a bit of drawing, because I have this service on my Web site where people can send me their portraits and for $20, initially, I would draw them, and their animals, what have you. I once had 1,600 to do in two weeks, and had to stop filming to finish them. Now, I’m going to put out a book called “1,000 Portraits” which is a collection of my illustrations from the project. That’s the beauty of doing a small project. You don’t have to go through the protocol of submitting the idea and being rejected by the studio.

When did you first get the idea to take portrait commissions on your Web site?

At one point, I wanted to do a drawing booth in New York, where people could not see me and slip me $20 notes, like in a photo booth, and I’d draw them through a half-way mirror, and then in five minutes, I’d give them their portrait. But I moved before I could. So I decided to do on my Web site. It was exciting, because every time I’d check my Web site, I’d see a new person and get interested in their life.

You also sell printed toilet paper on your Web site.

I don’t think I sold as many of those. I wanted people to wipe their a** with my ideas, but I don’t think they care very much.

Do you have a preference for documentaries or narrative films?

Of course I see feature films, but when I’m at home, I have a tendency to watch a lot of documentaries, which I enjoy more than fiction films. I recently watched the “Enron” documentary and it was one of the best thrillers I’ve ever seen in my life. I had to see it three times to fully understand it.

What’s the last movie you watched?

“Defending Your Life,” with Albert Brooks, on Netflix. I liked it quite a bit. He reminds me of Charlie Kaufman, because they both use a sort of negative humor. Because I’m currently in L.A., I’m also listening to a lot of books on tape, such as “Father and Son,” by Ivan Turgenev. I listen to a lot of Russian literature I should have read as a child but was too lazy.